So I've read about this product that's been out for other vehicles that re-maps the throttle on cars with drive-by-wire applications,
which is basically most cars these days. This electronic device goes between the throttle wire harness and the plug connector
attached to the actual gas pedal.
So a few days back I find out that the manufacturer in Europe has just made one for the MazdaSpeed 6 and yesterday I headed to the North American
distributor here in Canada to do a test fit and drive.
Well, let me tell you, the DNP manifold has now moved to #2 on my favourite mods list as this thing has taken over the #1 spot for me.
Personally, I've always put more importance on mods that improve throttle response in "day-to-day driving" over "notice-it-only-at-WOT" mods.
Afterall, WOT is only 1% of my driving, if that. At first, I thought the throttle would be really touchy so as to make drive-offs more difficult, but they
seem to have programmed this to not have any effect at that low of an engine speed. Once you're moving though, the throttle response is much crisper.
As I was driving the car, the word "urgency" kept coming to mind ... as in more of it. A little throttle gets the revs rising quickly and you
feel the boost sooner than otherwise. At first I was a little hesitant as my understanding of this product is that it basically shows the
ECU more throttle than your foot is giving, so why not just use your foot to give it more throttle, right? Well, it seems there's more to it
than that as I swear the car responds much better with this on than if I had given an equal amount of foot throttle.
For those that are aware of the Sport button on some BMW's whereby it heightens throttle response, this would be similar. It honestly feels
like I've gained a ton of torque and someone's transplanted a big block or diesel under the hood ... you just touch the pedal and you're moving.
Also, there's a bit of re-learning with driving as you have to get used to the new feel - in fact, I found myself staying with traffic
in front of me from a light closer than I would have otherwise and had to back off a bit.
There will be people that'll come on and say it's a useless device but I honestly think otherwise. Will it make you faster in the 1/4?
Not likely. But if you're like me and enjoyed the days when your gas pedal was directly linked to the butterfly plate on your throttle-body via
a cable, you'll love this. On a "grin per $ spent" scale this is way out there in front. As an example, you can spend 3-4 times the amount
this costs on a catback and not really feel any difference ... with this you WILL feel a difference and it's the best investment I've made
in this car so far.
As I mentioned above, I got this directly from the North American distributor (www.jrponline.com) and dealt with Derek Trefry there.
There may be other vendors (perhaps 1 of the sponsors?) that'll start to carry this but in the end they'll have to buy it from JRP, so
I hope I'm not breaking any rules with this. If anything needs to be edited, mods please PM me.
http://www.sprintbooster.gr/en/
which is basically most cars these days. This electronic device goes between the throttle wire harness and the plug connector
attached to the actual gas pedal.
So a few days back I find out that the manufacturer in Europe has just made one for the MazdaSpeed 6 and yesterday I headed to the North American
distributor here in Canada to do a test fit and drive.
Well, let me tell you, the DNP manifold has now moved to #2 on my favourite mods list as this thing has taken over the #1 spot for me.
Personally, I've always put more importance on mods that improve throttle response in "day-to-day driving" over "notice-it-only-at-WOT" mods.
Afterall, WOT is only 1% of my driving, if that. At first, I thought the throttle would be really touchy so as to make drive-offs more difficult, but they
seem to have programmed this to not have any effect at that low of an engine speed. Once you're moving though, the throttle response is much crisper.
As I was driving the car, the word "urgency" kept coming to mind ... as in more of it. A little throttle gets the revs rising quickly and you
feel the boost sooner than otherwise. At first I was a little hesitant as my understanding of this product is that it basically shows the
ECU more throttle than your foot is giving, so why not just use your foot to give it more throttle, right? Well, it seems there's more to it
than that as I swear the car responds much better with this on than if I had given an equal amount of foot throttle.
For those that are aware of the Sport button on some BMW's whereby it heightens throttle response, this would be similar. It honestly feels
like I've gained a ton of torque and someone's transplanted a big block or diesel under the hood ... you just touch the pedal and you're moving.
Also, there's a bit of re-learning with driving as you have to get used to the new feel - in fact, I found myself staying with traffic
in front of me from a light closer than I would have otherwise and had to back off a bit.
There will be people that'll come on and say it's a useless device but I honestly think otherwise. Will it make you faster in the 1/4?
Not likely. But if you're like me and enjoyed the days when your gas pedal was directly linked to the butterfly plate on your throttle-body via
a cable, you'll love this. On a "grin per $ spent" scale this is way out there in front. As an example, you can spend 3-4 times the amount
this costs on a catback and not really feel any difference ... with this you WILL feel a difference and it's the best investment I've made
in this car so far.
As I mentioned above, I got this directly from the North American distributor (www.jrponline.com) and dealt with Derek Trefry there.
There may be other vendors (perhaps 1 of the sponsors?) that'll start to carry this but in the end they'll have to buy it from JRP, so
I hope I'm not breaking any rules with this. If anything needs to be edited, mods please PM me.
http://www.sprintbooster.gr/en/
